Traction device



F. KEPLER. TRACTION DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED sEPT.15. 1921.

mm3-@up muted Mar. 28, w22.

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l .IRWIN F. KEPLER, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE B. F. GOODRICH COMFANY, F

NEW YORK, 1\T. Y., A CORPORATON OF NEW YORK:

TRACTION DEVICE.

Lamme,

To all lwhom it may con-cern.'

Be it known that 1, RWIN F. KEPLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and State oit' Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Traction Device, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to the supporting and ground-gripping structure of power tractors and its principal object is to provide an improved .cushioning device which will enable the tractor to 'travel over ordinary roads without injuring the surface and will also enable it to obtain a firm grip in soft ground.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a tractor wheel provided with my improved tread members.

Fig. 2 is a diagonal, transverse section through the rim of the wheel showing one of the cleats in` elevation with the tread device thereon partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a section. on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.b

Fig. .4 is a transverse section of a tractor wheel equipped with a modified form of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a section of this modification on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

1 have shown an ordinary tractor wheel 10, provided with the usual rigid rim 11 to which are riveted the bases of the 'usual L- shaped, transverse, radially projecting, di-

agonally disposed metal cleats 12, these cleats being spaced far enough apart so that the wheel rim 11 furnishes some of the support in soft ground.

On the cleats 12 I mount my improved cushioning devices, each of which comprises a rib-like tread member or tire segment 13 including a soft-rubber body 13a molded around .an embedded metal reinforcing plate 14 to which are riveted the flanged upper edges of a pair of parallel metal attaching plates 15 also partially embedded in the tread rubber and together constituting a bifurcated base. The plates 14 and 15` form a base structure substantally cIT-shaped in cross section which straddles the cleat 12 and rests" upon its outer or gripping edge. The embedded portions of the plates are surrounded byhard rubber 16 connecting them with lthe soft` rubber and are preferably formed with perorations 17, 1.8 for interlocking with the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

Application led September 15, 1921. Serial No. 500,774..

ioning structure for the tractor wheel, en-

abling it to travel rapidly and without damage over ordinary roads and they do not interfere with, but rather improve, the tractive qualities of the wheel in soft ground since they deepen the radial projections on the wheel. The longitudinal or circumferential width of the spaces between the rubber tread members 13 is greater than the width of said members so that in very soft ground the wheel rim 11 will have ground contact and furnish supporting surface between the cushioned cleats.

The above-described structuremay be variously modified without departing from my invention. For example, in Figs. 4- and 5 a cushioning or soft-rubber body member 13b having permanently vulcanized thereon a metal base member 14a provided with perforated flanges 14S surrounded by hard rubber 16a and embedded `in the soft-rubber body is made separate from the attaching metal side-plate members 15al of the basef" which are bolted to the cleat 12 and formed with hooked flanges 15b engaging the edges` portions of each side plate to interlock the cushion member with,y the side plates against relative movement longitudinally of the cleat.

1 claim:

1. A traction device comprising a travel- 2. A tractor Wheel having on its periphery a series of transverse, radially-projecting cleats, and a series of soft-rubber tread inembers overlying said cleats bifurcated metal bases straddling the cleats.

3. A tractor Wheel having on its periph'- ery a series of transverse, radially-projecting cleats, a series oic soft-rubber tread members provided with bifurcated metal bases straddling the cleats, and bolts traversing said bases and cleats for detachably securing them together.

4. A tractor Wheel having on its periphery' a series of transverse, radially-projecting cleats, a series of soft-rubber tread mem bers each havinglembedded therein a metal reinforcing plate Which. rests on the outer edge of one of the cleats, and a pair of metal.

base plates connected vvith said reinforcing plate and embracing the cleat between them.

and provided with 5. A tread attachment for tractors /eomprising a soft-rubber tread member having a bifurcated metal base permanently secured thereto. p

'6. A tread attachment for tractors comprising a soit-rubber segment having an embedded metal reinforcing structure, and a bifurcated metal attaching structure connected therewith.

7. A tread attachmentfor tractors comprising a soft-rubber tread segment, a metal reinforcing plate embedded therein and surrounded by hard rubber connecting said plate with the soft rubber, and bifurcated attaching means permanently secured to said plate andi-forming therewith a structure substantally 'lV-shaped in section.

lin Witness whereof l have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of September, 1921. 

